In Battle of Unbeatens, Clarion Bests Brookville

Tagged under: District 9, Gameday Hub, News

Phil Myers | September 14, 2019

Before a packed house in Brookville Friday night, Clarion bested Brookville 29-12.  The game was physical and featured some hard hitting by both defenses.  In fact, it was Clarion’s tenacious and unyielding defense along with some big plays by the offense that did Brookville in.  “It was a team effort and I was proud of my defense tonight,” stated winning coach Larry Wiser.

That Bobcat defense permitted Brookville’s offense a total of 170 yards for the night, including a measly 42 yards in the second half when the Blue Raiders’ average starting position was the Clarion 44.  Four straight times Brookville began a second half drive inside the Clarion 35, but the Bobcats subsequently gave up only six points.

The reason Brookville began a grand total of five drives in Clarion territory was because the Blue Raider defense forced five Clarion turnovers for the game.  The four possessions that didn’t produce points, but started in Bobcat real estate, netted minus eight yards for the Blue Raiders.  Clarion’s defense also came up with five sacks and forced two turnovers of their own for the evening, both being interceptions.

The other big story on the night was an apparent leg or foot injury to Brookville’s dynamic starting quarterback, Jack Krug.  He had 725 yards passing coming into the game and threw for 60 more on the Blue Raiders’ initial drive.  The junior speedster used his wheels to score the game’s first touchdown, strolling into the end zone from ten yards out.  The PAT was missed and the home team led 6-0 with 6:44 remaining in the first.

Clarion’s opening possession ended in disaster when the Blue Raiders’ Kyle MacBeth recovered a fumble.  Brookville’s subsequent drive fizzled out.  That possession was when Krug got hurt.  He was chased out of bounds by the Clarion defense and came up limping badly.  Without Krug in the line-up, Brookville faced an uphill climb, especially offensively.  He accounted for all 72 yards on the Raider scoring drive.  Brookville’s offense could only garner 98 yards the rest of the game.

Clarion got a break when Brookville’s punter, Nathan Taylor, couldn’t handle the snap and was forced to run, gaining only five of the 35 yards necessary to get a first down.  The drive stalled out at the Brookville ten on downs, but the Bobcat defense forced another punt.  Facing a fourth and five at the Blue Raider 37, Cal German threw a pass to Ethan Burford for the touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.  The Beau Verdill extra point gave Clarion a 7-6 lead which held all the way to half time.  German would end the evening with 5 completions for 165 yards, two scores and two picks.

Newcomb #2, Boggess #21, and German #8

Clarion scored on its first two possessions in the third quarter to extend their lead.  Cutter Boggess grabbed a pass over the middle from German and raced the rest of the way for a 49-yard touchdown at the 9:23 mark.  Seconds later, Gabriel Coull, a defensive lineman for the Bobcats, snagged a pass and returned it to the Raider 6.  A penalty moved the ball back to the sixteen and then three straight runs by Austin Newcomb resulted in another score.  The last being a 2-yard dive.  Christian Simko scored a 2-point conversion off a bad snap and Clarion’s lead was 22-6 with 7:21 still to play in the third quarter.

Brookville cut the deficit to 22-12 when Cole LaBenne plowed in from the three with seven and a half minutes left in the game, but that was it for Brookville.  Clarion’s last TD came with 3 minutes remaining on a Newcomb 26-yard scamper.  Mr. Newcomb was held to 17 yards in the first half by Brookville’s swarming defense.  He got stronger as the game progressed and the Raider ‘D’ weakened somewhat.  Newcomb was able to rush for 119 yards in half two and finish with 136 for the night, including the two scores.

LaBenne #34 after his TD, Wyatt Thrush #76.

Notes for the Night:  Robert Keth filled in at QB adequately for Brookville completing 10 passes.  Clarion is now 4-0 and hosts 3-1 St. Marys at Clarion-Limestone next Friday.  The jointure with C-L is paying dividends for the Bobcats.  According to Wiser the kids get along really well and are focused on football.  Brookville falls to 3-1 and hits the road, travelling to 3-1 Karns City next week.  Both bands, have around 50 members and did a wonderful job at halftime.

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